Bengali Fish batter Fry

How to make Bengali fish butter fry?

The Bengali fish butter fry is probably a malapropism of fish batter fry but remains totally acceptable because it does taste melt-in-your-mouth buttery. Fish butter fry or fish batter fry is not commonly made in Bengali home kitchens. This is one of those Bengali recipes that is implicated in the construction and execution of an authentic Bengali cultural identity and therefore limited to restaurants, cafes, or bie baris. Either fish butter fry or the Bengali fish fry is an essential item on any Bengali banquet menu and all legendary Bengali cafes like Mitra Cafe, and more recently Kasturi has a version of this delicious deep-fried fish on the menu.

When this COVID-19 mayhem ends, make sure to visit these eateries if you are in Kolkata and try their batter fries. Here’s another famous fried fish roll recipe that you might enjoy.

Mix flour, spices, milk, and water to form a smooth batter. You want a pancake-like consistency. A good batter is key to a good batter fry. The batter should not be too runny or thick. This is a simple batter recipe.If you are vegetarian, use this batter recipe to deep fry vegetables, like pumpkins, zucchini, onions, potatoes, and green chilies. Served with tartar sauce, they taste absolutely delicious. Alternately, use this batter to fry shrimps or thin strips of chicken for equally delicious results.

This simple 6 ingredient marinade can be used for marinating any kind of fish before deep frying. You can also add mint leaves, black pepper powder and chaat masala for an extra kick.

Grind cilantro, green chilies, garlic, ginger, onion with lime juice. Do not add extra water. You want the marinade to stick to the fish.

Traditionally, bhetki or bekti fillets are used for fish batter fry, but any kind of white flaky fish works. I like to use tilapia fillets or cod, too. Pat the fish fillets dry with a kitchen towel, add marinade, and mix well. Let it sit for at least 3o minutes.

Dunk the fish fillets in the batter and deep fry until golden and crispy on the outside. Serve with kasundi or green chutney.

For the batter

Instructions

Grind all ingredients listed under "for the marinade" and add to cleaned and dried fish fillets (by blotting with kitchen towels). Add some salt. Let marinate for at least 45 minutes.

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients listed under "for the batter", add milk, water/beer/soda, and egg (if using), and mix until smooth. Add the baking soda to 2 tsp of hot water, and add to the batter. Give it a good stir.

Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Dunk fish fillets into the batter one at a time and fry till golden brown. Serve with hot sauce, mustard sauce, ketchup, or tartar sauce.

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About me

Dhrubaa Mukherjee--An academic by profession, a contributor to Huffington Post, a dancer by passion, a compulsive foodie, a former flight attendant, and a constant traveler, I am, what they call, a transnational gourmand (gourmet?). I am not only fascinated by the tastes, colors, textures and aromas of food, I am equally intrigued by the histories, traditions and cultural inter-junctions that drive/influence recipes.